Manometer



Patented May 3l, 1932 f UNITED s'rA'rEs 'P A'rENr oFiFlcE LEWIS B. WINTON, F GBEENWICH, CNNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 THE :BROWN INSTRU- KENT CGMPANY, 0F PHILADELPHIA., IPENNSYILANIA.', A CORPORATION' 0F PENN- snvsma momma Application'led August 2l), 1929. Serial No. 387,101.l

The general object of the present invention is to provide a manometer, and constructive features for Yuse therein, which may be successfully employed with internal Huid 6 pressures much higher than yare customary and which ma reach, or exceed, twenty thousand poun s per square inch. j

` Even with vthe much lower pressure heretofore customary, diiculty'has been experi- 10 enced in providing suitable jointsf-'between the manometer proper and the pressure transmitting tubes orl pipes connectedthereto, and

such diiculty becomes more pronounced as the vinternal manom'eter pressure increases.

In accordance with the present invention,

. such diculty is avoided by the employment l of self sealing' joints specially devised for the purpose and comprising means for utilizing the internal iiuid pressureto force recooperating joint surfaces with a contact pressure greaterthan the fluid -pressure and increasing as the latter increases.

Advantageously I form the manometer itself of sections or parts which are connected by self sealing joints similar to those mentioned above, and each ofl which may be simple in shape and of a form facilitating its construction with the required strength.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a betterunderstanding of the invention, how ever,.andthe advantages possessed by it reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention. 4 Of the drawings t Fig.,1 is a sectional elevation of a manometer; and F Fig 2 is an enlargement of aportionof 1g. v -In the embodiment of my invention. illustrated in the drawings, a manometer of the U-tube type is formed with separate high and low pressure leg members Al and B, respectively, each of which is advantageously a steel silient metallic packing ring parts against having one end secured in the lower end of:

the member A, and'opening into the chamber a, and having its otherend secured'in the lower end of the member B and opening into the chamber b. v Fluid pressure is transmitted to the chamber a by a pipe D shown f as secured in an opening formed for the purose in the side of the member A, and open- 1ng intothe chamber a near its upper-end, and

above the normal upper level of the mercury or other sealing vliquid partially lling the 'chamber a. Fluid pressure is transmitted.

to the upper end of the chamber b throu h a pipe E co-axial with the chamber b an secured in a bushing ethe latter being secured in a cylindrical recess b formed in the member B at the upper end of the chamber b and which, as shown, is co-axial with and may be regarded as an enlarged extension of the chamber b.

As shown, a tube F co-axial with, and

open at its lower end to, the chamber a, and closed `at its upper end, is securedin a bushing f mounted in a recess a formed in the upper end of the memberA, and related to'the chamber a as the recess B is related to the chamber b. The tube F which may have-its upper end closed by a suitable plug (not shown), is adapted to receive a magnetic body or armature core carried by the stem of a iioat riding on the'seal liquid of the` chamber a, and cooperating with electro-magnetic means external'to the tube Fito afford a measure of the height'of sealing liquid in the chamber a. Said core,` oat and external electro-magnetic means are not illustrated herein, as they form no part of the present invention and may be such'as are employed in existing manometers which are well known and in extensive use. It is noted,

however, .that the tube F may advantageously A be formed of a well known alloy comprising eighty parts of nickel and twenty parts of chromium, which is non-magnetic and of electrical high resistance, and possesses the j in principle, and as shown, are all identical or substantially so, in form, so-thatit will Ybe sufficient to describe in detail only the one of these joints shown in Fig. 2 which is an enlarged scale illustration of the joint betweenv the pressure transmitting tube E and the bushing e.

For the purposes of its connection to the pipe E, the upper portion of the bore of the .bushing e is enlarged to form a cylindrical recess ef large enough to receive an outwardly projecting flange portion E10 carried by the pipe E at its lower end. vAs shown, the flange E10 is in the form of a ring nut threaded'on the pipe E. Seated on the upper end of the flange E10 is-,a packing ring I having its upper end I rounded, and extending into a groove J formed in the adjacent end of a l second packing ring J. The opposite end of the packing ring J is engaged by an ordinary screw gland member K threaded into the enlarged and internally threaded upper en portionA e0 of the recesse.

For the purposes of the present invention, the packing ringoparts I and yJ should be accurately made, ut no attempt is made to ,approximate a driving fit of' the packing rings on the tube E, or in the recess e. vOn

the contrary,I ordinarily provide clearances of two thousandths of an inch or so between the packing rings and the pipe E and the outer wall of the chamber e', while the clearance between the wall of the chamber e and the ange E10 may well be asmuch as four thousandths of an inch or so.

with-the high pressures contemplated, the

ring I is preferably made of hardened steel and has its rounded end polished. The ring J is preferably made of unhardened low carbon steel, and while it should be accurately machined, it need not be polished. The curvature of the rounded end I of the ring I should be such,.re1ativerto the inclinations ofthe side walls of the groove J in the ring J, that Athe side walls of the groove Will be j truly tangential to the portions of the rounded surface of the ring I in ,engagement therewith, and lthat the two curvedlines o`r nartransverse'to the axis of the tube Y As those skilled in the art will understand,

"row zones of contact will be in the same plane the ring I of the joint shownV -in Fig. 2 is normally'pressed against the abutting ring J f by aloading-force due to the fluid pressure For use in the manometer, and approximately equal Y in amount to the action of that pressure on the area of a-circle, the diameter of which is the external diameter of the ange E10. 'lrhis loading force wedges the side walls of the groove J in the ring J apart, and into contact with adjacent walls of the recess e and tube E.. The contact pressure between the walls of the groove J and the surfaces'of the parts E and a with which they are in engagement depends, of course, upon the proportions of the parts, and depends in particular upon the external diameter of the iange E10, and in practice I prefer to proportion the parts so that the said contact pressure per unit of area is'atl least one and a half times the fluid pressure per unit of area in the manometer. i

- With a joint constructed and proportioned as described, the fact that the contact pressure between the walls of the groove J and the cylindrical surfaces into engagement with which they are wedged or-cammed by the ring I, varies with, and substantially exceeds the fluid pressure per unit'of area in the.,

manometer under all normal operating conditions, eifectually insures against joint leakage. With a properly designed joint construction of the type described, the spreading apart of the-side walls of the 'groove J does not stretch those walls beyond the elastic limit, at least to an extent suflicientto interfere with the ready taking down and reassembly, of the joint when necessary. Furthermore, lthe assembly, taking.

down and reassembly of joints may be effected with an ordinary hand wrench even in the case of joints used vwith fluid pressures in excess of twenty thousand pounds per square inch.

As previously explained, the different self sealing joints are not only all alike in prinexcept in the following respects The joint between the bushing e and the part B is sealed by packing rings I and J held between a screw .gland member KB and Aciple, but, as shown, are identical in form a flange portion of the bushing e which is integral with the latter, insteadof being threaded thereon,as is the lflange ring Elo of the tube El' Similarly, the'joint between the bushing f and the part A comprises packing rings I and J `compressed between .a screw gland member KA, and an integral flange portion of the bushing f.- Asfthose skilled in the art will readily see, the bushings e and f are advantageously employed primarily be-v cause the cavities in the members B and A in which said buslnngsare mounted, are materially'larger in diameter than the tubes E and F. The openings in the members A and B into which the tubes D and C are inserted, may readily be made of the proper size so that no bushings, corresponding to the bushings e and f, are required in connection with the joint connections for tubes C and I).

IVhile in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described the best form of embodiment of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent lo those skilled in the art that changes ma)1 be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims and that in some cases certain features ot my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use ot other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A manometer adapted for use with high internal Huid pressures and comprising separate chambered members forming the manometer legs. a U-tube through which the lower ends of the chambers in said legs are in communication, pressure transmitting tubes communicating with said chambers, all of said parts being constructed to withstand internal fluid pressures of several thousand pounds per square inch. and self sealing joint connections by which each of said members is detachably connected to each of the said tubes in communication therewith and each comprising a pair of cooperating packing rings,

one of which 1s expansible into sealing contact with each pair of connected parts by said other packing ring.

2. A container for fluid under high pressure comprising a part formed with a fluid containing space and with a cylindrical recess open at its inner end to said space, a tubular part having one end entering said. recess and formed with an external flange at its entering end, a gland member surrounding said tubular part and detachably secured in the outer end of said recess, and two packing rings surrounding said tubular part4 and located end to end between said gland member and flange, the adjacent ends of said pack-V ing rings ferentially with a rounded end entering said groove and actuated by said fluid pressure to spread the inner and outer walls of said groove into engagement with said tubular part and with the outer wall of said recess, respectively, with a Contact pressure substantially in excess of the fluid pressure in said container.

3. A container `tor Huid under high pressure comprising a part formed with a Huid containing space and with a. cylindrical recess open at its inner end to said space, a tubular part having oneend entering said recess and formed with an external flange at its entering end, a gland member surrounding said tubular part and detachably secured in the outer end of said recess, and two packing rings surrounding said tubuiar part and located end to end between said gland member being formed, one with circuming rings vot August, A. D. 1929.

and Harige, the adjacent ends of said packi l being formed, one with a circumferentially extending groove having flexible side walls, and the other with a hardened rounded end entering said groove and actuated by said fluid pressure to spread the inner and outer walls of said groove into engagement with said tubular part and with the outer wall of said recess, respectively, with a contact pressure substantially in excess of the fluid pressure in said container.

4. A manometer adapted for use with a high internal iuid pressure and comprising separate chambered members forming the manometer legs each formed with a cylindrical opening-in its lower en d, and a U-'tube having its ends received one in the said recess of one` and the other in second ot said members and through which the lower ends of the chambers in said ylegs the said recess of the asl are in communication,*the portion of said tube entering each recess being formed with an external flange at its entering end, a gland member surrounding each tube end and detach ably secured in the outer end of the corresponding reccss, and two packing rings surrounding each entering end and located end to end between the corresponding gland member and flange, the adjacent ends of said packing rings being formed, one with a circumerentially extending groove, and the other with a rounded end entering said groove and actuated by said fiuid pressure to spread the inner and outer walls of said groove into engagement with said tub'e and the outer wall of said recess, respectively, with a contact pressure substantially in excess of the fluid pressure in said manometer.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 19th day LEWIS B. WINTON.

extending groove, and the other 

